Whether your team is permanently remote or working from home part of the time, bringing a little bit of the office-and your branding-into your employees’ homes is a big piece of the puzzle when it comes to fostering a sense of connectedness. From practical to fun, check out our list of branded home office desk ideas to boost employee morale and add some company branding to your employees’ home office set up.
Just Getting Started: Providing Branded General Office Supplies
It seems like these items might be a given, but for some employees who’ve made the switch to working from home without much investment, they may be missing some home desk ideas that may not be a necessity. While these items may be a nice-to-have-like tape dispensers, desk organizers and a mouse pad-they definitely make things easier and lead to a nicer home office set up. Here are a few branded office gifts you can add to your home office essentials list to help your employees feel more natural and settled into their work-from-home spaces:
• Pens: A staple in home offices, corporate offices, in purses, the car and, well, everywhere! Choose from an ergonomic-friendly Bic® Intensity® Clic Gel Pen for a step above the standard (yet still much appreciated) plastic pen. Or, consider a Vienna Pen and Pencil Set in a sleek box to level up your employee gift. You can also give them a premium ballpoint pen, ballpoint pen plus stylus or comfort stylus pen.
• Markers: From fine-point permanent markers and dual-end highlighter markers to dry erase markers, providing an alternative to the ever-popular pens (though we know they’re a top pick for many teams) will add that extra touch as employees realize the thoughtfulness of the gift, showing how you matched employee need with your gift-choice.
• Tape dispensers: Perfect for when your employees need to keep notes handy or assemble a project for work. Choose a branded dual tape dispenser or branded memo tape dispenser stand.
• Mugs: While they are great for holding warm beverages and proudly displaying your brand, many employees also use mugs as pen holders or simply as décor for their desk. Choose from a premium looking design that works a little harder – a mug with a cork base that protects your employees’ hands and desk from heat, as well as a slide-closure top to prevent spills or a ceramic mug that doubles as a chalkboard to let your employees’ creativity shine as they write their name on it, share their mood/how they’re feeling, write reminders and more.
• Desk set: This home desk idea will help your employees have the essentials in one place with a branded complete desktop supply set, or consider packaging up office essentials in a box, a portable office kit, a telecommute set or off-site work kit.
• Desk calendars: While online calendars are readily available and easy to use, there’s something about seeing a printed calendar that brings comfort, helps employees remember important dates and, of course, provides an opportunity to keep your name front and center. Consider a small sticky calendar for employees to put near their home workstation, or opt for the full-size wall calendar with 20 themes to choose from. Or, maybe a pocket calendar or a memo desk calendar better fit your employees’ needs.
• Portfolio/notepads: Notetaking doesn’t stop when employees begin working remotely. Give your employees a premium portfolio, the Richmond Powerbank Portfolio, which includes a full-size notebook as well as a built-in power bank for charging devices. Or, consider a branded note pad or spiral notebook with sticky notes and a pen for quick notetaking whenever and wherever.
• Sticky notes: Great for reminders or creating a list of tasks, your employees may like the custom printed notes cube, mini sticky notes book or custom printed notes.
• Headphones: Whether your employees are working remotely in a space all to themselves or sharing space and ear waves with loved ones, headphones are handy when you want to focus or ensure your confidential conversations are not overheard. Consider ear buds with a branded case, wireless auto-pairing earbuds with a charging case or branded noise-canceling headphones with a microphone.
• Lamps: Each employee has a different set up and varying needs for their work-from-home space, but they all need a little light (especially for video calls). This 3-in-1 lamp, phone charger and fan will keep them cool, well-lit and charged for whatever the day brings them.
• Chargers: Your employees have many devices, some work and some personal, and need to keep their batteries charged. Give them an engraved portable power bank, wireless phone charger and stand, or a retractable charging cable.
• Cord organizers: With a computer, monitor, phone, tablet, mouse, keyboard and other technology used to work from home, your employees may feel a bit overwhelmed with the cords. Give them something small, yet very useful, such as a snap-in cord organizer, tangle-free cord organizer or a leather cable organizer.
• Electronic organizers: If your employees need a better way to store their smaller tech pieces when not in use, MARCO Promos has an organizer to help them keep things sorted.
• Desk organizers: Whether your employees could benefit from a tech organizer, a light up desk stand or a compact office buddy cube, we have options for you to provide a useful and fully-branded giveaway for your employees’ work-from-home desks. Your employees will get useful gifts, and you’ll help them be more productive and efficient so their best work can shine through.
• Mouse pads: While some employees may opt to go without, mousepads are helpful to extend the life of their mouse, as well as to reduce wear on their desk. Consider a simple branded square mouse mat, a gel mouse pad with a wrist rest for better ergonomics or a microfiber cloth that multi-tasks as a screen cleaner, laptop screen protector and mouse pad.
Practical: Branded Office Cleaning Supplies
While no one may physically see your employees’ workspaces (because most video calls are from the shoulders up), workspace cleanliness still matters for morale and productivity. Help your employees’ keep their spaces clean with these branded office supplies.
• Screen cleaners: Whether you choose a mini screen cleaner that attaches to the back of a phone, a full-color microfiber cleaning cloth or a phone sanitizer, your employees will surely appreciate the useful gift.
• Keyboard cleaners: Your employees spend a lot of time using their computer, often eating snacks and meals in front of the screen-and over the keyboard. Help them “de-stickify” their keyboards with a branded keyboard cleaner.
• Trash cans: While it seems silly, having a small trash can nearby can help minimize distractions (or the need to get up and throw things away frequently) and keep your employees’ workstations clutter-free.
• Hand sanitizers: Help your team keep their hands germ-free with full-size, travel sprays and mini-hand sanitizers.
• Dusting supplies: Household chores are therapeutic for some and a dreaded task for others. Help your employees keep their home office workspace clean with a microfiber dusting cloth they can use while on a call or waiting for their computer to start up.
Take it up a Notch: Branded Health Items
Working from home has many benefits and leads to less stress for many, but as with any job, stress is something that happens from time to time. Help your employees manage their stress and take care of their mental health with these items:
• Coloring books: Relieve stress and promote relaxation with an adult coloring book paired with inspirational messages, planner and coloring book combo, or combine coloring pages, note pages and colored pencils into one branded employee gift.
• Stress toys: From the standard stress balls to push bubbles and dual screen cleaner and stress reliever, you can help your employees de-stress and boost job satisfaction.
• Fidget toys: Whether your employees have a hard time staying focused (especially during long virtual meetings), or they are dealing with anxiety, fidget spinners, fidget keychains and tangle puzzles are a great giveaway to help your employees regain focus.
And Don’t Forget the Fun!
We know it’s not all work and no play (at least we hope it’s not!), so we wanted to include a few ideas to add a little fun (and definitely a few smiles) into your employees’ workdays. Here are a few branded office supplies that promote fun:
• Plants: Grow their engagement and add some life to their desktop with fun planters to liven up their home workspaces.
• Letter boards: Let their creativity shine as then develop their own custom messages on a cinema light box.
• Portable speakers: Give your employees a dual-function mini Bluetooth speaker that can be used as a speaker or microphone, Hampton Bluetooth® Speaker or Wi-Fi Bluetooth speaker with Alexa to help them listen to music, check the weather, get news updates and more.
• Roller notes: Make leaving reminders and marking up documents fun with a memo tape roller. This teardrop sticky note holder is as unique as it is memorable.
Branded office supplies help employees feel more at home in their WFH workspaces, as well as cared for by their employer. Work with a MARCO Promos specialist to help you develop a branded office supply care package for your employees. Call or chat with us today, get your free samples, and propel your business this year!
